Nesarian War of Independence
Nesarian War of Independence The Nesarian War of Independence, fought from 1948 to 1956, was a highly destructive war that led to the Nesarian Empire regaining independence and the humiliation of the Soviet Union. It claimed a total of 7,790,000 lives, and the Nesarian losses were 7.9% of the population at the time (5,790,000 of 73,250,000), whereas the Soviet losses were only 1.2% (2,000,000 of 170,500,000). It devastated the Nesarian Empire, not only due to the population loss, but the severe damage to the land, as nearly all the fighting took place on Imperial soil, most of which was in Estemoria and Indissia, although there were also several battles in Avamoria. It was the last time that the Nesarian Empire ever went to war with another state. The War of Independence was also the time when the Nesarian Genocide was at its peak, and much of the devastation was deliberately ordered by the Soviet government in order to try and demoralise the Imperial rebels - however, it had the opposite effect, motivating the rebels to fight even harder against what seemed to be the destruction of their nation. There is no doubt that, if the war had turned into a full-scale war of attrition, the Nesarian Empire would have been overwhelmed; however, the Soviets never mobilised on a large scale for the war, many civilians and politicians did not want to waste soldiers on a country they did not believe they would ever be able to pacify, and the Soviet soldiers had little will to fight. Following the death of Stalin (the biggest advocate for the war) in 1956, the Soviet Union recognised the independence of the Empire, not seeing the point in fighting any longer. It began as a revolution led by Emperor Adrion I, which quickly turned into an all-out independence war. The foreign aid was critical in the early moments of the war, as Adrion found it difficult to attract support until he had won a few victories. The factories were seized in 1949 and production of tanks and planes began, using imported materials. The materials were eventually acquired locally as the Nesarians seized the mines, farms and so on. By 1950, about 80% of the "core territory" of the Nesarian Empire had been regained, and then a brutal and bloody campaign to defend the borders ensued, which is where most of the casualties happened. The legendary fighter ace Avetoku Satharo was killed in the Battle of Brakovan in 1952, which had mixed effects - some were severely demoralised by his death, but he acted as a martyr for others and encouraged them to fight harder to avenge him. The Soviet Union attempted to drop a nuclear bomb on Nesaria once in 1953, but the bomber was shot down (they used bombers because they wanted to keep their missiles configured towards targets in the west). The Soviets did not attempt again, fearing not only that the bomber would again be shot down, but that nuclear action would trigger a nuclear attack from the west. The Americans withdrew their support in 1950, when the "core territory" had mostly been restored, and the Italians and West Germans withdrew in 1953. The Greeks only withdrew at the end of the war, stating "you never abandoned us, so we will never abandon you" (referring to the great lengths the Nesarian Empire went to in order to restore the independence and territory of the Greeks). The British also continued their support until the end of the war, which went a long way to repair relations between the United Kingdom and Nesarian Empire. There was no single most decisive battle, but significant battles include the Battle of Brakovan in 1952, and the Battle of Allisina in 1955. The 11th of June, the day that the war ended, is a national holiday throughout the Empire, and two minutes of silence are held at midday to remember those who died in the War of Independence. The day after, the 12th of June, is when the victims of the Nesarian Genocide are remembered. As well as the Imperial Armed Forces and foreign expeditions fighting the Soviets, there were also numerous radical independent groups who fought alongside the Emperor's forces, the most prominent of which were (in no particular order): * The Dead Men * The Holy League * The Swords of Akras